Case Study: Fatimah, a young refugee beneficiary of SocialBox.biz

A Socialbox.biz blog post update by Jenni (June 2018)

Fatimah* is a captivating young woman from eastern Africa who has been living in the UK for approximately three years. She has a thirst for learning and education, and she has made huge progress in her learning over the past twelve months thanks to the help of a laptop gifted to her by SocialBox.biz.

Despite various attempts to enrol in college following her arrival in the UK, she was unfortunately prevented from doing so throughout the first couple of years of her stay.

With support from RSN, she has been able to take advantage of English language programmes at two local colleges with all her student fees waived. She has enjoyed this supportive learning environment, the ability to make friends with her peers, and the opportunity to progress further towards her goal of studying Health and Social Care. She hopes one day to work as a caregiver to the elderly, and is currently exploring voluntary befriending placements with local charitable organisations.

About six months into our support work with Fatimah, she asked if she could use a computer to access online English language materials, as well as to set up an email account and travel card account. We weaved this into our support work, as we knew this basic life skill would promote her ability to flourish and progress in her education. SocialBox.biz had already provided us with a number of laptops, and we prioritised Fatimah as one of our laptop recipients because we knew she would be able to quickly implement its use in her life.

In our one on one sessions with Fatimah, we used the laptop to set up an email account and travel card account, which proved helpful in managing hardship fund grants used to help her travel to and from college. Fatimah has also used the computer to practice typing up her class assignments, and she sends them to the staff at RSN to ask for their feedback.

We’ve also used her laptop to promote her confidence in using the internet to explore opportunities for work experience and volunteering. Because the laptop is very transportable, it is easy for Fatimah to bring it with her to our coaching sessions so she can build her confidence in using it.

We are thrilled to have had this opportunity to help build core computer literacy skills with Fatimah, which have already proved useful in her access to and progression within education. Thank you to all at SocialBox.biz!

*Not her real name. We have disguised details about the young woman’s identity to protect her anonymity.